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(bright tone fluctuates in volume)…- [Instructor] Some people get into modular synthesizers…because they're into analog synthesis,…and if you're one of those people, an obvious choice…for a second VCO would be an analog VCO,…such as the Intellijel Dixie.…This is a nice classic solid sounding analog VCO.…In the next few movies we're going to go through…its various waveforms, including pulse with modulation,…its sync options, including an interesting variation…on sync called flip, and then finally,…frequency modulation, both linear and exponential.…

The Dixie is a nice compact module at only eight HP wide.…It's moderately deep at 38 millimeters,…that kind of falls in the middle of the range,…and it needs 70 milli amps on the plus 12 voltage rail…and 60 milli amps on the minus 12.…It's what's known as a triangle core VCO,…that's why I have its waveform displayed right now,…because that's how the circuit works internally…and then drives all of these other waveforms…by modifying that initial triangle wave.…The Dixie has been through a few evolutions,…

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Released

7/3/2017

You have a small core modular or semi-modular synth, and you're wondering: What should I add next to grow the capabilities of my system? And how can I get the most out of what I buy? In this extensive course, synth designer Chris Meyer reveals the important utility or "glue" modules you need to expand a core system such as a Moog Mother-32, and then explores a selection of the wide range of modules available in the Eurorack modular synthesizer format. Each chapter on a module type—such as oscillators, filters, modulators, and more—starts with a general movie showing you what features to look for in a module and how to patch it into your system, and then dives into three contrasting, representative examples of modules available inside that category. Along the way, Chris reveals a wide variety of synthesis tricks and techniques for the performer or sound designer, with styles ranging from melodic to dance to noise/industrial.

This course has been designed as the logical follow-up to the original Learning Modular Synthesis or Learning Modular Synthesis: Moog Mother-32 courses, and should be helpful to a wide range of modular synthesists.

Topics include:

Shopping for modules more intelligently, with a better understanding of what features, options, and sound possibilities to look for

Interfacing your modular with the rest of your studio, including MIDI and sound connections

Reading waveform and spectrograph displays to better understand what each module is doing in your system, and how that translates to the sound that you hear

Creating new timbres using and combining both East and West Coast techniques, employing creative waveform mixing, frequency and amplitude modulation, soft and hard sync, waveshaping, and more

Managing audio levels to balance your desired amount of predictability and fidelity versus instability and distortion in a patch

Taking advantage of additional MIDI and CV controls to more interactively perform your modular patch, including managing control voltage levels to dial in the desired result